@kimberly n Hey Kim! I went on a 3.5 mile walk with the dog and did some glute/hip strengthening this morning. I'll go to the pool here in a little bit. Really, when you are not running, I'd take a look at what is causing the injury, look at the root problem. If you are just taking a break, then enjoy it and take part in a bunch of activities that are fun.

@LouiseBourqueCunningham Great to hear you took the time to get back into 'running minimalist' and to hear you enjoyed it a lot. When you take the time to be present and focus on your runs, the form and flow comes natural. What sort of work have you been doing on your form?

@fernby I can only speak for myself, but it's something I'll definitely keep doing. My feet and toes have been thanking me for the last month and I notice way less problems just in terms of general upkeep. It's worth it.

@eric_wheeler@arikhanson How is poor writing and grammar hurting our society? Because my 15 year old cousin spells 'you' as 'u'?

Come on now. English writing system is horrible. It's the reason we have spelling bees. It's (partially) the reason that children have a hard time reading English (adding bad teachers into the mix as well). There is no good reason why I cannot write 'u' instead of 'you' or 'r' instead of 'are' except for "That's not the right way to do it"

I'll give you three words, tough, women and nation. Now, using those three words as a guide for pronounciation, say the word 'gh-o-ti'

What do you get? Apparently the cause of what is hurting our society.

I apologize for snark and coming across as crass, but having studied sociolinguistics in my former life, comments about language being the downfall of society are absolutely 100% false.

I'm going to jump in and play the former linguist card and disagree, but also throw something else into the mix. (Note: I understand the lighthearted nature of the post, but thought it would pave the way for some interesting discussion)

We are not destroying our language.

Languages evolve. Simple. Go back and attempt to read a novel or play in Middle English and you may understand some of it, but it will seem foreign and weird to you. Why? Our current modern English evolved just the same way that our language is evolving now and will continue to evolve as long as humans are communicating.

Now, is totally going to be replaced with totes? Probably not, but there is no reason it could be except for people saying "that isn't what the rule is." or "We are destroying our language".The overarching issue at hand that isn't addressed above is the problem of register - varieties of language that are used in certain social settings for certain purposes. A clean example is the use of -ing at the end of words (think walking vs. walkin'). If you are amongst friends, you would more than likely say walkin, but if you are in a professional meeting, most default to saying the entire word, 'walking'. There are five different registers in language, generally speaking.

Static - Things that are frozen in time (Pledge of Allegiance, Our Father)

All languages across the world have different register types for different situations. This is as common as languages itself. However, what is happening is that the situations in which people switch registers are becoming blurred.

More importantly, the Consultative and Casual registers are blurring together. As the boss-worker relationship begins to change and evolve, so does the formality of the language used between them. When I'm friends with my boss, and we get into a conversation, my language register can slip into casual instead of consultative.

Look, people use ridiculous saying and names with their friends all the time. It's part of how language shapes friendships and solidarity. But, now that the definition of friendship is changing (think offline to online) the way in which language is being used is undergoing the same change, and being brought out into the limelight.

@ThomHolland@scribblinghappy That is the toughest part. It is always a possibility, so we don't want to play it up way too much, but the problem lies with how connected we let the personal brand align with the professional one. I'm personally for letting them closely align, but there are pros + cons to both. Interesting question about if an employee would be beneficial to a previous employer. Have you seen this before?

Once a year I hit the complete reset button and delete all of my RSS feeds (minus ones I monitor from work), unsubscribe from everything and start from zero. This lets me find new, fresh ideas and perspectives.

One comment: I see everyone talk about 'balance' but IMO it's not balance, it's really what works for you. Balance implies there actually is one side which weighs the same as the other. Let's face it, our lives are completely unbalanced, but if we find the point in which our unbalanced lives work for us, we have found what we are looking for.

@patrickreyes Thank you so much Patrick! I'm sorry to hear you went through a similar experience, but those of us who have know that in some way, that has shaped us for the better today. Glad to hear the experience is still strong inside of you and you are passing it on to your children I'm sure!

I'd explore the impact of building a community around your personal blog and how that marries with your work or job. At the end of the day it takes an extremely dedicated focus simply to your blog, but when projects and life comes calling, how do you get it all done or which one takes precedent. One other topic/question is how to build community around a personal blog when it can feel a bit self-serving. I have this problem all the time with my own, personal site, but never have the problem promoting a site that is not myname.com. Interesting dynamics that live within those two threads.

I disagree with the quote or line afterwards. In my personal email I've had the same quote for the last three years “Little by little you have to teach the United States that this is the best game in the world.” Johan Cruyff. I've received quite a lot of replies from people commenting on that statement and it's sparked quite a few conversations.

I'd rather see a quote than a 15 line signature with so much other useless info.

@iamluca Luca - great points. Self-validation can be a cover up of the truth. We thrive on praise, positive comments and feedback, but personally I value the negative feedback more because it helps push the conversation forward.

@delwilliams Why I agree that companies don't have time to learn every new thing, there is a large difference between wanting to embrace and learn a new technology or tool and saying "Just set me up with a Facebook page." (which so many companies are doing)

If you cannot embrace social, than don't do it. If you are a small business, flying solo and too busy to learn do you really have the cash to oursource it? Doubtful.

As long as there are businesses who want to get rich quick off the social media and the twitter there will be those people who get paid $$$ to set up only Facebook and Twitter pages. Once the demand goes away, they will hop on to the next fad.

@HowieG I wouldn't be so quick to discount Seth Godin. His whole focus is on shipping and doing work, which is why he doesn't actively use twitter. If someone is giving great content I would still read their work even if they do not actively promote community. Just because he chooses not to participate in a community but wants to write has not hurt what he's been able to accomplish nor his reach.

@kbaumann Hi Kirk! Great to hear from you and thanks for the comment. So many people are focused on gaining followers right away that they forget to figure out how the whole scene works. I'll be sure to give your site a look and let you know what I think! It was great to meet you last week and hopefully we can stay in touch and meet up next time I'm down in Springfield!

Dominating a niche takes incredible focus and restraint which is why many people struggle at it.

Facebook doesn't have to be the best at anything to survive because they have millions upon millions upon millions of people using the service. If they do a bunch of things okay they will still maintain their current position.

It doesn't matter if they keep adding on because aside from us who can step out of the user shoes and think about the problem from 30,000 feet, the typical user will continue to use the platform as is.

It's like a LEGO. You take it out of the package, put it together and it works just fine. But LEGOS get way more fun when you make the thing on the outside of the package without the directions and by slapping on other pieces from other sets. But, if you have never done that before, just follow the directions and you get a simple to use final product.

Awesome resource! This is why for me, I can't get used to evernote for daily activities. While I may not be the best artist in town, my mind works visually, illustrated by my always full 5 ft whiteboard in my office at the NSCAA.

Once I pick up a pen or marker and write I am more likely to be able to recall it later.

I'd disagree. What inherently makes a word 'foul'? It originated in unwritten languages where words where thought to be 'magic' and saying the word would bring harm to the person who used it or about the topic of the conversation.

The way you present it puts you on a pretty high horse. Some of the smartest PhD's I know swear all the time, while some of the more 'uneducated' people don't. Be careful how you tie education into the ability to use language, it's not as clear as you may think.

Swearing is a personal choice. How we chose to use and manipulate language to communicate is up to us. What is okay to one person is not okay to someone else and that should be respected. There are also certain times and places where it's socially acceptable to swear and others where it not.

I swear. A lot. However, I understand when it is socially appropriate to do so and when it is not.

You have the right to interpret my swearing in any way you wish, but I'd caution you to try to advocate a 'return to decency'. No one has the right to tell me how I can use language to communicate.

Swearing actually serves very important social functions. It shows solidarity in groups, belonging and is often imitated by people who are admire someone in a more powerful social position.

@ginidietrich@Morgan@dustinasmith I do the same at NSCAA and with other projects I've worked with. Specific to a certain campaign there are tweets we have in place to make sure we get the most out of the 140 characters and it's on point with the right mesaging.

If you can, just don't give away at random. We had a 14 year member here at the NSCAA who had never been to our convention, but told us on twitter this week he was going. We sent him a polo, scarf and upgraded him to our VIP convention package as a simple way to say 'thank you' and to spread some good cheer. I could have given those away to someone else, but I know with this particular member we now are very well connected.